The Frequent Flyer’s Grooming Guide

Travel Grooming

Travelling presents unique challenges when it comes to grooming. Flying, in particular, can play havoc with the skin – as can jet lag.

So we bring you a simple survival guide to ensure you always look as good at the point of arrival as you did at the point of departure…

Travel Light

Liquid restrictions can play havoc with a gentleman’s grooming routine, especially if he’s high-maintenance.

The solution, as I discovered years ago, is simple: grab yourself a selection of empty travel pots (stores like Muji have a great selection) and simply scoop or squirt just enough of your favourite products into them for the flight there and back.

It saves time – and the horror of having to ditch a raft of expensive lotions and potions at airport security – and is economical too.

Prep Skin

If you suffer from dry skin, Dr Tom Mammone, Executive Director of Skin Physiology and Pharmacology at Clinique, suggests spending some time prepping it in advance.

“The night before or the morning of the flight, apply a hydrating mask,” he says. “This will prep and intensify moisture levels in the skin, helping you combat dehydration while flying.”

Up Your Fluid Intake

“The main challenge while flying is keeping yourself and your skin sufficiently hydrated,” says James Cooper, Flight Service Manager with Virgin Atlantic. “So, without wanting to sound too clichéd, water is a must!”

To keep skin hydrated from within, avoid dehydrating tea, coffee and alcohol and if you find plain water boring do as Cooper does and pop a green tea or peppermint teabag into the water bottle to give it some flavour. “It’s much better than sugary juices or fizzy drinks,” he adds.

Moisturise!

The low humidity in aircraft cabins can rob skin of essential moisture, leaving it feeling dry and tight and susceptible to premature ageing. To protect it, switch to a moisturiser designed for dry skin like Elemis’ rich S.O.S Cream, ClarinsMen’s Super Moisture Balm or Polaar’s Extreme Care.

“I very much like Biotherm’s Aquapower range and Bio-Oil, too, which I use on my face just after shaving and while my face is still wet, to seal in the moisture from the water,” says Cooper, who also recommends reapplying once your reach your destination.

Avoid using the moistened wipes that arrive with your meal on your face, by the way, as they may contain skin-drying alcohol.

Elemis Sos Emergency Cream 50ml

Clarinsmen Moisture Balm – Dry Skin

Intensive Body Balm Polaar

Biotherm Aquapower Dry Skin Moisturiser 75ml

Bio-oil 125ml

Nickel Moisturiser For Dry Skin 75ml

Spray Don’t Play

One of my favourite travel products is ThisWorks In Transit Spray On Moisture. A different way to hydrate your face, it’s formulated with plant oils and organic aloe vera to deliver critical moisture to the skin.

As well as being perfect for air travel it’s also a great product to have in your bag or jacket pocket when you’re out sightseeing:

Make The Most Of The Night

Numerous studies have shown that the optimum time for skin repair is during the night when we’re asleep and the skin switches to ‘reboot’ mode.

Handily, it’s also the best time of day for skincare products to be absorbed – so if you’ve been travelling make sure you apply moisturiser or a mask (see above) just before hitting the sack.

Better still, apply a skin revitaliser like ClarinsMen Fatigue Fighter and wake up looking as fresh as a daisy:

Grab A Power Nap

Losing sleep won’t just make you look tired, it messes with your immune system too. In fact, losing just three hours sleep can cause a 50 per cent drop in our immune response.

With this in mind, try grabbing a power nap. Set your clock though: experts reckon the optimum amount of time for napping is under thirty minutes.

Eat To Cheat

American research has shown that the body’s natural ‘meal-time’ clock runs parallel to the one governed by light changes – and you can easily fool it.

So, if you consume food during the flight, try eating according to your destination’s local time.

Exercise

With research showing the body’s internal clock responds to exercise, a work out is the perfect way to reset things (do it in the morning of your new time zone).

What’s more, it’s also great for boosting circulation which will help re-invigorate tired, jet-lagged skin.

Refresh Your Hair

One of the most useful travel-aids any man can own is dry shampoo (look out for small ones like Batiste’s 50ml On The Go).

It’s perfect for refreshing and revitalising hair after long journeys and especially good for those times when you have to head straight from the airport to an important meeting:

Osis Refresh Dust Dry Shampoo 100ml

Batiste Dry Shampoo On The Go Blush 50ml

Bumble & Bumble Prêt-à-powder

Skip The Fragrance

There are times to apply a fragrance and times when not to apply one – and trust me, just before a flight is not one of those times. Nobody sitting on an eight-hour trip is ever going to thank you for dousing yourself with Tom Ford’s Oud Wood or Thierry Mugler’s A*Men.

Even a refreshing scent like Dior’s Eau Sauvage can be overpowering in such a confined space, so skip the fragrance altogether and avoid sampling scents on your skin in duty free too.

Get Involved

What products do you never travel without? Anything you’d recommend as an in-flight must-have?

Let us know using the comments section below…

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About The Author: Lee Kynaston

An award-winning journalist and former magazine editor, Lee Kynaston is one on the UK's best known and most experienced male grooming experts.

He writes for The Telegraph, Men's Health, Harrods Magazine and numerous other publications and websites, is Lifestyle & Grooming Editor of Niven & Joshua, and was voted Best Beauty/Grooming Blogger 2013 at the Fashion Monitor Journalism Awards for his Grooming Guru blog.

Another great alternative to Muji’s mini cans are samples. I only use Kiehl’s products and they normally offer me different samples, which I use a bunch of times. Thus, I can take my favourite skincare products with me, without running the risk to lose them at security…

Thanks Lee, very useful advice. Yet – most of the fun of being in a duty free is sampling fragrances! The temptation to spray this and that is huge… But it’s certainly true that too much cologne might bother your travel mates.

As a frequent business traveller (1 week in every 4) I’m glad you’ve taken the view that such travellers tend to stick to hand luggage only and that does place restrictions on liquids but you do have to be reaistic on how limiting this is.

If I travel with a beard trimmer and so don’t need the assorted liquids for wet shaving I can only fit: roll-on deodorant; 1 hair product; 1 moisturiser; small toothpaste; and a small aftershave within the limits. If I’m wet shaving the moisturiser has to be approriate for that and I have a very small tub of shaving soap that would replace the aftershave. If I’m going somewhere hot then the moisturiser has to also have an SPF factor of at least 15 as well.

Gym kit in hand luggage is doable, but really you’re limited to 2 pairs of shoes plus maybe some flip-flops or espadrills. If you can wear your work shoes for everything else then trainers can be taken. Swimming is the easier option as you only need to fit a pair of trunks in your bag.

It’s definately worth using a good hotel chain who’s shampoos, conditioners, etc you know and don’t mind. That’s a few less things to pack.